Johan-Olav Botn

Johan-Olav Smørdal Botn (born 18 June 1999) is a Norwegian biathlete from the village Stårheim, in Stad Municipality. He made his Biathlon World Cup debut in 2024. He won gold in the men’s 20km individual biathlon at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Career Botn made his international debut relatively late in November 2021, securing the 32nd position in the IBU Cup sprint in Idre. Following another appearance in January, he was subsequently excluded from the squad. During the winter of 2022–23, the Norwegian participated in the initial races in early December, achieving his first top-10 result with an 8th place in the individual competition. Due to Erlend Bjøntegaard's decision to waive his starting rights, Botn received the reserve starting position for the season finale in Canmore and secured podium finishes in both sprint races. His standout performance, however, occurred in the final race of the season, the pursuit competition, where he claimed his first IBU Cup victory with a lead of over a minute over Vebjørn Sørum. At the Norwegian Championships, Botn, alongside Håvard Bogetveit, Simon Kirkeeide, and Johannes Thingnes Bø, won the bronze medal in the relay event for Sogn og Fjordane. For the 2023–24 season, he was selected for the B-national team for the first time. At the 2024 European Biathlon Championship, he won one gold and two silver medals.

On 10 February 2026, Botn won the gold medal for men’s 20km individual biathlon at the 2026 Winter Olympics, finishing with a time of 51:31.5.

Personal life Botn attended Eid High School in Nordfjordeid.

Botn is in a relationship with cross-country skier Karoline Simpson-Larsen. He is the son of Olav Botn and Brit Mari Smørdal Botn and has a brother called Jørn Smørdal Botn

Biathlon results All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

Olympic Games 2 medals (1 gold, 1 silver) EventIndividualSprintPursuitRelay 2026 Milano Cortina Gold 8 10 8 Silver —

World Cup

Individual podiums 5 victories – (2 Ind, 1 Sp, 1 Pu, 1 MS) 8 podiums

Team podiums 2 victories – (2 Relay) 4 podiums No. Season Date Location Discipline Level Place Teammates 1 2025–26 30 November 2025 Östersund Mixed Relay World Cup 3rd Strømsheim, Botn, Knotten, Tandrevold 2 14 December 2025 Hochfilzen Relay World Cup 1st Dale-Skjevdal, Botn, Lægreid, Christiansen 3 17 February 2026 Antholz-Anterselva Relay Olympic Games 2nd Uldal, Botn, Lægreid, Christiansen 4 7 March 2026 Lahti Relay World Cup 1st Dale-Skjevdal, Botn, Lægreid, Christiansen

IBU Cup

Individual podiums 11 victories – (1 Ind, 5 Sp, 4 Pu, 1 MS) 26 podiums